M3 Discussion 2: Trauma of Racism Today

Intergenerational trauma is manifest today through structural racism, microaggressions, and overt forms of racism and violence, such as White Nationalism. Indeed, there is a very real connection between racism today and the trauma it creates and perpetuates. Recognizing this in our clients and being open to understanding their experiences with racism, violence, oppression, and not feeling/being safe is critical. Movement such as Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the Indigenous Environmental Network serve to unify people of color and White people with the express purpose of educating, bringing social and environmental justice to the forefront, and creating pathways to systemic change. A human service professional must balance compassion towards the past and the effects this has on people with encouraging and assisting movement forward; finding a way to get “unstuck” and build a future that lessens the impact of the trauma of race and discrimination. This also means being an advocate for clients and for the end of racism and discrimination. Enabling a racist, sexist, and biased system to continue means that we are enabling the trauma to continue. We have to consider our commitment to ourselves and each other to name the trauma, deal with it, heal from it, and ultimately work to end it together. In 2016, the American Psychological Association released a pivotal report, Stress in America: The Impact of Discrimination. The landmark study looked at the effects of discrimination, racism, and intergenerational trauma from a broad perspective and included the LGBTQ+ and disability populations as well as accounting for race, ethnicity, and gender. Here is what the report found: A wealth of psychological research shows that discrimination can exacerbate stress. Moreover, discrimination-related stress is linked to mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, even in children.1,2 In this year’s examination of the state of Stress in America™, the American Psychological Association (APA) highlights the connection between discrimination and stress, along with the resulting impacts on relationships, employment, and overall health (p. 10). The experience of discrimination in America is significantly high with a staggering 61% of Americans reporting daily discrimination (Stress in America, 2016). In addition, 49% reported dealing with major discrimination including unfair policing (searches, threats, abuse, and violence), unwelcome neighbors, the education system not encouraging and supporting the continuation of studies, and lack of appropriate healthcare (Stress in America, 2016). People with disabilities are twice as likely to report extreme stress with money (insecurity) and work being the primary causes of the stress (Stress in America, 2016). People with disabilities face daily bias and discrimination in school, the workplace, healthcare, even something non-disabled take for granted such as shopping in a store. People with disabilities have among the highest poverty rates as a result of discrimination. The study also found that younger generations are reporting increases in stress; not the direction we want to go in in terms of decreasing intergenerational trauma and stress. Pember (2016) also authored a report looking at the history of genocide and forced assimilation in Native American populations titled Intergenerational Trauma: Understanding Natives’ Inherited Pain. Pember discusses the science behind intergenerational trauma from a biological perspective (how trauma changes our DNA and how that gets passed on) and the emotional aspects of intergenerational trauma. The science points to current problems (such as mental illness and addiction) being partly responsible for the past horrors of Native American genocide and abuses (Pember, 2016). These are not only “learned” behaviors, but the trauma caused by genocide has altered DNA through the generations. Pember also discussed the science behind resiliency-based interventions that can help individuals, families, and whole communities heal now and build resiliency for the future. Reference Pember, M.A., (2016). Intergenerational Trauma: Understanding Natives’ Inherited Pain. 2016 Indian Country Today Media Network, LLC. Retrieved from https://amber-ic(dot)org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ICMN-All-About-Generations-Trauma.pdf. Video Assignments Please watch these four short videos: “Let's Get to the Root of Racial Injustice”, by Dr. Megan Ming Francis (2016 TedxTalk, 20 minutes in length, captioned) “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. How Is It Different From PTSD?” (2019 Video, 6 minutes in length, captioned) “Study Finds PTSD Effects May Linger in Body Chemistry of Next Generation” - (2015 video, 6 minutes in length, transcript available) While watching the videos, take notes so you can gather information for your discussion post. For example, as a question comes to mind be sure to write it down. Same for a quotation, when one comes along that strikes you, write it down. When you are done viewing the videos, take some time to reflect on that material so that you can formulate a post to the discussion area in which you: Provide a quotation, one that is especially pertinent or relevant to the main points of the video and one that will prompt significant discussion from your classmates.